Malheur National Forest Archive

This page contains projects that are completed, inactive, cancelled, or were changed or
stopped through our involvement. Information on these projects is retained to facilitate continued monitoring of the impact of the projects over time, or to provide a reference when new projects are proposed in the same vicinity. Currently active and planned projects can be found in the Take Action section on the Malheur NF page.

Thorn Post-fire Timber Sale

Located near
Dayville, OR, spanning a couple thousand acres in roaded forests
near Fields Creek and the eastern portion of Aldrich Ridge.
Sierra Club and allied efforts succeeded in protecting
thousands of acres of old growth and roadless area forests,
dropping these from this timber sale in a landmark ecologically
protective appeal settlement agreement, reached in late May,
2008. The full text of the
settlement:
Memorandum of Understanding and Settlement Agreement.
The agreement protects the greater 1,500 acre Aldrich roadless
area, a rare ecological treasure that has never been logged, and
has had very little livestock grazing. The area has supported a
wealth of native species biodiversity found in few other places
in the Blue Mountains outside of designated wilderness. Along
with two adjacent large roadless areas (together totaling
approximately 50,000 acres), it is deserving of wilderness
status, and has been proposed for wilderness designation in the
past. The area provides irreplaceable habitat for numerous
wildlife species, including pine marten, wolverine, lynx, bear,
cougar, elk, deer, numerous woodpeckers, raptors, and native and
migrant birds, and many others. Volunteers have hiked, surveyed,
camped in, and flown over the project area during the past year.
Conservation efforts successfully stopped a timber sale in the
same area in the late 90’s, thanks in large part to the help of
many active volunteers. Once again, efforts succeeded in
protecting this irreplaceable area from logging. Volunteers are
needed helping survey and photo document settlement logging in
adjacent roaded area forests, ensuring settlement agreements are
kept and holding the agency accountable for logging impacts in
ongoing educational outreach efforts addressing the folly of
postfire logging.

Galena "Forest Health" Project

Malheur Forest, photo by Asante Riverwind

This project encompasses an area of approximately 37,200 acres in
the Middle Fork of the John Day River about 28 miles northeast of John Day, Oregon.
The stated purpose of this project is to
"... restore forested stands in the project area to more
closely resemble historical conditions that are more sustainable
than current conditions." More information on this project, including the original scoping letter, maps, and the Draft Environmental Impact Statement are available on the Forest Service Galena Project web page.

The proposed treatment units are located along Vinegar Creek, Vincent
Creek, Blue Gulch, Little Boulder Creek, Hunt Gulch, Windlass Creek, Tincup Creek, Deerhorn Creek, Davis Creek, Placer Gulch,
and other unnamed creeks and tributaries. The project will implement several resource management activities, including timber harvest and precommercial thinning on 8339 acres, prescribed burning on
19,913 acres, road construction, reconstruction, maintenance, and road closures and decommissioning,
and aspen restoration. The proposed action also includes two amendments to the Malheur Forest Plan:
one to increase the size and number of designated and replacement old growth areas, the second to reduce
satisfactory big game cover below standards.

The Sierra Club has serious
concerns with the the Galena Project, and submitted an extensive statement
of those concerns in response to the 2009 Scoping Letter. The full text of
those comments can be read at Galena Scoping Comments.

The Draft Environmental Impact Statement
(DIES) was issued in
early 2011. Our review of the DEIS shows that several of those
concerns have not been addressed:

Road Density - The draft EIS presents a misleading picture of road density reduction and the impacts that new and temporary road building and reconstruction would have on the project area.

Treatment in Undeveloped Roadless Areas - The preferred alternative, as well as alternative 4, calls for an inappropriate amount of commercial thinning and new road building in the forested areas directly between the proposed Wilderness and County Road 20. Closed roads in this vicinity should remain closed or preferably be decommissioned; high clearance vehicle roads in the area should be closed to motorized traffic or decommissioned; new roads should not be built in this vicinity, and harvest activities in stands adjacent to the proposed Wilderness should be dropped from the preferred alternative.

Commercial Thinning in Mixed Conifer Stands - Commercial thinning is not an appropriate tool for reducing fire risk in these mixed conifer stands with higher levels of moisture since they typically have a less frequent, more severe fire regime than do other forest types. This practice will not help to mimic natural fire-regime cycles.

The full text of our comments can be read at Galena DEIS Comments. The Sierra Club requests that these comments be addressed in the Final EIS. (5-13-11)

Damon Wildland Urban Interface Project

This project encompasses 19,421 acres and lies approximately
3 miles north and south of Seneca, Oregon along US-395. The
project will accomplish 8200 acres commercial logging thinning;
6800 acres pre-commercial thinning; and 14,000 acres of
underburning. Much of this will be accomplished using
ecologically damaging heavy ground based machinery including
removing trees up to 21" in diameter; some in "replacement old growth" and "pileated
woodpecker feeding areas"; logging in goshawk areas; logging in aspen stands and RHCAs;
construction of 7 miles of new roads; and ground based tractor
logging.

The Forest Service issued a Decision Notice on March 11, 2010 implementing
this project. The notice directs a series of scientifically insupportable logging/thinning actions. Such actions have generally proven to
cause far more harm than benefit, with the varying degree of harms dependent upon the extent of thinning employed and the location and timing of thinning actions. This project is similar to the
Dads Creek Project and shares many of the same concerns.

The Oregon Chapter Sierra Club, in collaboration with Blue Mountains
Biodiversity Project and Grant County Conservationists, have appealed
this project decision. The following major objections were filed:

The full text of our Objection can be read at Damon Project Decision Objection. Click here for
Damon Photos showing
habitat and wildlife endangered by the Damon Project. The final Decision
Notice was issued on June 7, 2010. The Forest Service documents related
to the Damon Project, including detailed maps, can be found on their web
page
Damon Project.(6-7-10)

Prairie City Ranger District

Dads Creek Wildland-Urban Interface Project

Dads Creek Challenge, photo by Asante Riverwind
The Malheur NF revised its
published legal notice to meet our
ecological and legal concerns,
dropping unroaded area units and road
construction. The agency agreed to keep the
project within the common ground ecological
recommendations of the Blue Mountains Forest
Partners collaborative group. As a result,
two timber industry and one Grant County
HFRA objection(s), were filed, necessitating
the writing and filing of legally strong
conservation organization objections (see
Dads Creek Wildland Urban Interface Project Objection,
October 2008) to
maintain legal standing and prevent this
first collaborative restoration project from
being transformed into a harmful logging
project. Communication with the Malheur
Supervisor, local allies, county officials,
and the timber industry finally succeeded in
the agreement of all parties to withdraw
their legal objections (see
Dads Creek Objection Withdrawal, October 2008), allowing the project
to proceed within the scientifically founded
restoration parameters developed by the
collaborative group and the agency.
Simultaneously, work included ongoing
communication with allies and collaborative
group on the next proposed restoration
project, Damon Scotty. Ongoing review and
communication concerning changes to proposed
collaborative agreements and developing
restoration plans.

All of these
"fuels reduction" and/or "aspen recovery" sales have been
changed to incorporate significant conservation concerns. Canyon
Creek was changed as a result of negotiations during its appeal
period, others were changed as a result of issues raised through
public comments and ongoing communication with agency staff.
Projects are located in areas with vulnerable wildlife species
and salmonid waterways. Volunteer help is needed monitoring
these projects as they are implemented, documenting and
assessing impacts, ensuring protective ecological provisions are
followed.

Knox timber sale

Proposed logging across
1,840 acres of forest. Initial agency plans propose using heavy
soil damaging logging machinery throughout the area. Sierra Club
scoping comments submitted last year raised the need to analyze
and disclose ecological conditions and concerns. Volunteer help
is needed hiking and documenting the project area, assessing
project impacts on wildlife species and salmonid waterways, and
assisting in addressing ecological and legal issues. Comments on the
EA were submitted in October 2008 and can be read at
Knox Hazardous Fuels
/ Forest Health Project EA Comments, October 2008. More
information on this timber sale is available on the Forest
Service web site:
Knox Hazardous Fuels / Forest Health Project.

Emigrant Creek Ranger District

Jane HFRA Project

This project lies in the Calamity
Creek watershed between the communities of Drewsey and
Seneca, and is eastward of US-395 at about the midpoint
between Burns and John Day. The Forest Service stated
purpose of the project is to reduce the risk of risk of fire
to life, property, and natural resources in Harney and Grant
counties. It is the Sierra Club position that this project
is not credibly or legally applicable for use under the
Hazardous Fuels Reduction Act (HFRA). The full text of
our comments can be read at Jane HFRA Project EA Comments.
The Forest Service project description, including the Scoping Letter, can be found at Jane Hazardous Fuels Reduction Project. (8-07-09)

Egley postfire timber sale

A postfire
roadside hazard-tree logging sale near Delintment Lake
northwest of Burns, Oregon. To meet conservation concerns
with Egley, the Malheur revised their initial plans. The
current proposal limits logging to only roadside hazard,
safety objectives in campgrounds, and around management
facilities/livestock water troughs, etc., dropping their
original interior forest logging plans. Volunteer help is
needed monitoring the project as it is implemented,
assessing ecological impacts and concerns, and helping with
ongoing conservation outreach in area communities.

Black Rock Timber Sale

Appeal negotiations
successfully modified this small postfire timber sale, with
the agency dropping old growth forest areas from logging,
and marking mature and old snags for retention, as well as
all live trees greater than 21" diameter. The remaining
timber sale was concentrated in burned young forests that
had grown in since fire suppression that began earlier in
the 1900's. Volunteer help is needed documenting the impacts
of the resulting logging, assessing if conservation
agreements were adhered to and if these effectively helped
protect the area's older forests and dependent wildlife.

Van Grazing Allotment

Working with local volunteers and allies, an
appeal of the agency's decision to
re-authorize livestock grazing in the Van
allotment after only 3 to 5 years of rest
from grazing was submitted in November 2008
(see
Van Allotment Appeal, November 2008).
ONDA and BMBP joined in our appeal.
The agency issued its decision unchanged
from their original proposal only 12 days
after the comment period closed. Allotment
areas include portions of the proposed OS
Harney restoration project noted below,
however the agency decision fails to
meaningfully consider closing some or all of
the area to grazing entirely, or to include
any provisions resting the planned
restoration-thinning/burning areas to allow
these to recover before grazing is resumed.
As the initial implementation of the
decision will rest the area for at least 3
years, the appeal was filed largely to
maintain legal standing should the agency
resume livestock grazing that would harm the
area once the rest period is concluded.
See
Van Allotment on the Malhuer NF website for more
information.